Like a Rock: Hybrid Car Sales Plummet

Put another way, what does it mean that sales of hybrid cars in the U.S. fell 50% in November—more than car sales fell overall in a terrible month for automakers?

Back to regular sticker shock (AP)

U.S. hybrid sales in November fell to 16,571 units, notes Green Car Congress. The slump affected everybody from Toyota and its market-leading Prius to smaller hybrid players like Ford and General Motors. That puts U.S. hybrid sales back where they were in November, 2005.

That also raises questions about the wisdom of Congressional insistence that Detroit retool its product line to build more hybrid and electric cars and fewer trucks and SUVs. As we noted earlier, Ford’s most resilient product in November was its F-150 pickup truck.

In a nutshell, the economic slump and credit crunch have kneecapped all car sales. Falling gasoline prices have been the coup de grace for hybrids.

Gasoline prices have fallen 58% since breaking $4.11 this summer; nationwide prices now average about $1.73 a gallon, the AAA says. Cheap gas makes expensive upfront investments in more fuel-efficient hybrids a difficult proposition–especially as some analysts talk of gas plunging toward $1 a gallon before long.

So here’s the question: Should a cash-strapped industry desperate to jumpstart sales focus on building the cars that are selling today, or focus on the cars that will could be big sellers if oil and gasoline prices—and the economy—head north again?

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Environmental Capital provides daily news and analysis of the shifting energy and environmental landscape. The Wall Street Journal’s Keith Johnson is the lead writer. Environmental Capital is led by Journal energy reporter Russell Gold, and includes contributions from other writers at the Journal, WSJ.com, and Dow Jones Newswires. Write us at environmentalcapital@wsj.com.